Machine for working metal rods, bars, and the like



J. T. LEECH 1,779,479

AND THE LIKE Oct. 28, 1930.

MACHINE FOR WORKING METAL RODS, BARS Filed Feb. 19, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR J. T. LEECH Oct. 28, 1930.

MACHINE FOR WORKING METAL RODS, BARS, AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 19, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR M ma 70 0 W Mm Mm mm n EHTL Oct. 28, 1930. J. T. LEECH 1,779,479

MACHINE FOR WORKING METAL RODS, BARS, AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 19, 1929 4 hee -Sheet 3 INVENTOR W MM Oct. 28, T LEECH MACHINE FOR WORKING METAL RODS, BARS, AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 19, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented o r. 28,1930

UNITED STATES JACOB TEST LEEGH,

PATENT qFI-ICE OF BEAVER, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO UNION DBAW'N STEEL COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

MACHINE FOR WORKING METAL RODS, BARS, AND THE 1.1m:

Application filed February 19, 1929. Serial no. 341,112.

This invention relates to metal working and more particularly to mechanism for prok ducing finished rounds, squares, hexes and g7 other sections such as those now made by cold working apparatus, and an object of this invention is to provide a new and improved mechanism for making this class of products.

. A further object is to provide a new and improved cold working apparatus for converting hot rolled stock into products as above described.

In the class'of products involved, it is necessary to have a surface finish as nearly perfect as possible, and, for-this reason, it has been customary to thoroughly pickle the hot rolled stock prior to the cold working operations. In order to obtain stock with the desired surface, that is, free from scale, pits, seams or other defects, machining the stock has also been resorted to for removal of such defects. As heretofore carried out, this machining is expensive and interferes with continuous operation.

A further object of this invention is to provide a mechanism constructed and arranged so as to to render the pickling of the stock unnecessary, and which, while it obtains the results of machining, may be utilized as a part of the mechanism employed in continuously producing die finished products from hot rolled stock.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a mechanism constructed and arranged to rapidly produce sections such as those now made by cold working operations, with a minimum of labor and handling and at a relatively low cost.

These and other objects which will be apparent to those skilled in this particular art are attained byvmeans of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of a finishing mill constructed in accordance with one embodiment of this invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale. Fig. 4 is a view in section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of certain details 6 of the feeding mechanism. Figs. 6 and 7 are views illustrating certain details thereof, and Fig. 8 is an elevational view of a broaching die forming a part of the structure illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, and Fig. 9 illustrates certain details.

The particular embodiment of the present invention which has been chosen for the purpose of illustration includes a mill of the so called continuous type in which the work is passing through and being operated upon simultaneously by separate mechanisms including separate stands of rolls. In order to overcome the difliculties encountered in mills of this type resulting from the differential in speed of the material passing through the different roll stands, due to the reduction in diameter of the work and the resulting different speeds at which the rolls in the separate stands must be driven, the present rolls are idle rolls and the material is, in the illustrated embodiment, forced through the rolls by a suitable feeding mechanism located in operative association thereto. In this way the speed differential is automatically compensated for. When the rod bar, or the like which is to be finished is received from the hot mill, it is coated with the usual scale or oxide and it is necessary to remove this scale for the proper finishing 'of the work. This may, of course,be done by the usual pickling process, or in any other desired way, but the present invention contemplates a machine for continuously finishing hot bars without subjecting them to any intermediate operation. A combined scale removing and machining mechanism is provided for operating upon the bar as it is fed to the working-rolls and an improved form of feeding mechanism is provided for the purpose of continuously feeding the bars through the mill.

In the illustrated embodiment of this invention, the mill includes a feeding mechanism 10 constructed and arranged so as to continuously feed work through a scale removing mechanism, through reducing rolls and through a finishing die. When the end of'a given piece of work has been reached and passed through the feeding mechanism, the forward end of the next following piece of work engages the first piece and itself forces it through the mill, the feeding means being located at the entrance end thereof. The work is therefore fed in tandem through the machine. I

The feeding mechanism may be of any de sired type, but that illustrated is ofthe endless conveyor type and arranged so as to continuously feed one piece of work after the other to and through the mill. It includes a pair of endless chains 11 which pass around horizontal driving sprockets 12 at one end of their travel and around horizontal, adjustable idler sprockets 13 at the other end of their travel, the idler sprockets being supported in slidable bearing blocks 14 which are adjustable by means of suitable adjusting screws 15 to suitably tension the chains. Alternate links 16 are provided with jaw carriers or housings 17 pivotally mounted in the links upon suitable pivot pins 18, or the like. Each jaw carrier or housing has aslot 19 provided with an inclined face 20. A work gripping wedge 21 is slidably mounted in the slot of the housing and held therein by suitable pin and slot connection 22. Obviously, longitudinal movement of the wedge in its carrier along the inclined face 20 thereof results in the wedge moving in or out of the carrier. The wedge carriers or housings and wedges or gripping blocks on the respective chains are so arranged that wedges or gripping blocks of one chain are positioned opposite to and cooperate with the wedges or gripping blocks of the other chain during the travel thereof through the work feeding pass between the two chains. As each pair of wedges is moved into position on opposite sides of the work, they are made to move longitudinally and laterally in the carriers or housing in such a way that the'opposed cooperating wedges are fed toward eachother into work gripping position, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and 5. The mechanism for doing this is of such arrangement that the jaws or wedges are moved toward each other until they are in work gripping position, engagement of the jaws with the work serving to prevent further inward movement of such jaws. In this way the jaws automatically accommodate themselves to work of different size or different diameter. As illustrated, this mechanism includes a gear wheel 23 mounted on a shaft 24.- beneath the work feeding pass of the chains in position to engage rack teeth 25 formed on the lower faces of the work gripping wedges 21. Rotation of the wedge closing gear 23 is resisted by a brake shoe 26 yieldingly pressed by a suitable spring 27 against a brake drum 28 on the gear shaft 24. In this way a drag is imposed upon each wedge as it moves lnto work gripping position, causing the same to lag behind the movement of its supporting chain and thus slide longitudinally and laterally in the slot 19 of the carrier or housing 17 toward the cooperating wedge of the other chain until the work is similarly gripped therebetween. Further in ward movement is resisted by the work itself andthe operating gear 23 is caused to rotate until the gripping wedges move out of contact therewith. It will be obvious that various sizes of work pieces are automatically accommodated by this type of feeding mechanism and the inward movement of the gripping wedges is greater or less, depending upon the size of the work to be engaged. Intermediate links 29 are provided with gripping jaws 30 pivotally connected to the links y pins 31 and wear blocks 32 are located therein for engaging the work. The travel of each chain in the work feeding pass is directed and supported by a plurality of backing rolls 33 in a manner which will be readily understood.

The present invention is adapted to operate upon rounds, bars or other pieces of work as they are received from the hot mill. Such articles are encrusted with scale which must be removed prior to finishing thereof. This may, of course, be done in the usual manner by passing them through suitable pickling baths, or the like. However, in the present invention means is provided for mechanically removing the scale from the material as it is fed to the finishing or reducing rolls, and this mechanism is preferably constructed and arranged to not only remove the scale but to also machine the surface of the stock, to remove all pits, seams or other defects.

As illustrated, this mechanism includes means for first cracking or breaking the surface together with means for subsequently removing the cracked or broken surface as, for example, by cutting. For this purpose, a stand of horizontal corrugating rolls 35 for breaking the scaled surface by corrugating it in one direction is provided, and a second pair of vertically arranged corrugating rolls 36 is provided for completing the breaking of the scaled surface by corrugating it in the other direction. As illustrated. the horizontal and vertical corrugating rolls forming the successive surface knurling passes are mounted in connected housings formed on a single supporting base, but any desired arrangement can be provided. The stock is then machined by passing the work through a cutting die which in the illustrated embodiment, is formed by successively arranged broaching dies 37, the first of which removes part of the broken surface by grooving and the second of which removes the intervening portions left by the first die. It will be apparent that the knurling operation so breaks up the surface of the work that no long chip is formed by the broaches, but only small chips which are easily disposed of.

After passing through the machining mechanism the work is forced through separate'pairs of alternately horizontal and vertical reducing rolls $38 which form cold roll passes in which the'material is successively and continuously reduced. The corrugating rolls and the reducing rolls are idle rolls so that the differential in speed of the work through the separate roll passes is automatically compensated for. The finishing pass is formed by a stationary die 39 which sizes and finishes the work. Like the vertical corrugating rolls 36, each set of vertically positioned reducing rolls 38' is located at the same side of the housings in which the horizontally disposed reducing rolls 38 are mounted, that is, at the side of said housings through which the work is discharged from the'respective horizontal corrugating and reducing rolls. L

' Each pair of Vertically positioned reducing rolls are adjustable about the roll pass formed thereby. Each housing for the ver tical rolls is supported by means of a flange 45 seating in a counter bore 46, see. Figs. 2 and 3, in which it is secured by a suitable pin and slot connection 47. Such an arrangement permits adjustment-of the vertical rolls about the roll pass for the purpose of ironing out any fin which may be formed on the.

rod by the preceding horizontal rolls.

In operation, the driving sprockets 12 for the feeding mechanism are driven from a power shaft 40 through suitable gearin 4-1 from any desired source of power not shown), and the endless chains. are so arranged that the alternate links carrying the wedge shaped grippers 21 on the separate chains will cooperate with each other so as to place the wedges of one chain opposite to the wedges on the other chain in the work gripping pass therebetween. After each pair of wedges moves into position on opposite sides of the work, the gear teeth 25 on the bottom surfaces thereof engage the gear 23 which yieldingly resists movement of the wedges past it, as a result of the spring pressed friction brake 26. This causes the wedges to lag behind'the housings of the links andresults in relative movement of the wedges in the wedge carriers 17 such as to move the wedges inwardly into work gripping position, and the yielding nature of this movement causes the wedges to automatically I accommodate themselves to the variations in diameter present in work of the type operated upon. The intermediate jaws 30 also engage the work and cooperate with the movable jaws in feeding it through the mill.

Assuming that an ordinary roundbar is being fed through the mill, the continuous feeder passes it through suitable guides 42 which direct. it through the first pair of vertically disposed corrugating rolls 35 where the surface of the bar is partially broken by being subjected to corrugations running in one direction relative thereto. Breaking of removed by the action of the broaching dies 37. The machined bar then enters the reducing rolls 38 where the alternate sets of horizontal and vertical rolls continuously and progressively reduce the diameter thereof. It is finally forced through a finishing die 39 which sizes and finishes the bar. The roll pass formed by each pair of vertically positioned rolls is of the same size as the preceding pass formed by the preceding hori zontally positioned rolls and the two passes formed by the separate sets of rolls cooperate to work all portions of the bar equally in all directions. The operation is continuous and the feeding of a given bar through the mill after it has passed through the feeding mechanism is accomplished by the succeeding bar which pushes it ahead through the mill.

Although I have described a specific construction of the mill and feeding mechanism in more or less detail, it will be apparent that various additions, omissions, substitutions and changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit of this invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination in a cold finishing mill, of a plurality of pairs of idle rolls forming a succession of cold roll passes, mechanism for machining the surface of the-work prior to its entrance into said roll passes, a finishing die and means for continuously feeding work through said machining mechanism, said roll passes and said finishing die.

2. The combination in a cold working mill 7 for rods, bars, and the like, of a pair 'of idle rolls formed so as to break up the surface of said bars, idle reducing rolls associated therewith, mechanism for machining the surface of said bar between said first named rolls and said reducing rolls and means for pushing said'rods, bars and the like through said rolls and machining mechanism.

3. The combination in a mill for cold working rods, bars or the like, of a series of successively arranged, alternately horizontal and vertical pairs of reducing rolls, a finishing die, corrugating rolls for roughening the surface of an unworked bar, means for broaching rolls 36 ing work grippers carried by the links of said chains, said grippers being disposed to move longitudinally of the links, thereby to grip opposite sides of the work to be fed and mechanism for causing adjacent grippers on said links to be moved longitudinally thereof into gripping position irrespective of variations in the size of the work.

5. The combination in a continuous feeding mechanism for rods, bars, or the like, of a pair of endless work feeding chains, horizontal sprockets for driving said chains, slotted carriers mounted on said chains, wedge shaped grippers slidably mounted in the slots of said carriers and means for causing said grippers to move longitudinally in said slots into work gripping position.

6. The combination in a continuous feeding mechanism for rods, bars, or the like, of

a pair of endless work feeding chains, horizontal sprockets for driving said chains, slotted carriers mounted on said chains, wedge shaped grippers slidably mounted in the slots of said carriers and means for engaging said grippers to yieldingly resist movement thereof so as to cause relative movement between said grippers and said carriers for shifting said grippers into work engaging position.

7. The combination in a continuous work feeding mechanism, of a pair of endless work feeding chains, horizontally positioned sprockets for driving said chains, wedge shaped grippers slidably mounted on said chains, gear teeth on said wedges, and means adapted to engage said teeth at a predetermined point in the travel of said chains for causing said wedges to move into work gripping position.

8. The combination in a continuous work feeding mechanism of a pair of endless work feeding chains, horizontally positioned sprockets for driving said chains, wedge shaped grippers slidably mounted on said chains, gear teeth on said wedges, a gear adapted to engage said teeth at a predetermined point in the travel of said chains and means for yieldingly resisting movement of said gear so as to cause said wedges to be shifted into work engaging position.

9. The combination in a continuous work feeding mechanism of a pair of endless work feeding chains, horizontally positioned sprockets for driving said chains, wedge shaped grippers slidably mounted in said chains, gear teeth on said wedges, a gear adapted to engage said teeth at a predetermined point in the travel of said chains and a friction brake for yieldingly resisting movement of said gear so as to cause said wedges to be shifted into work engaging position.

10. The combination in a continuous feeding mechanism for rods, bars, or the like, of a pair of endless work feeding chains, means for driving said chains, housings mounted on said chains, wedge shaped grippers slidably mounted in the said housings, and means for causing said grippers to move longitudinally of the housings into work gripping position.

11. The combination in a continuous feeding mechanism for rods, bars, or the like, of a pair of endless work feeding chains, means for driving said chains, housings mounted on said chains, wedge shaped grippers slidably mounted in said housings and means for engaging said grippers to yieldingly resist movement thereof so as to cause relative movement between said grippers and said housings for shifting said grippers into work engaging position.

12. The combination in a continuouswork feeding mechanism, of a pair of endless work feeding chains, means for driving said chains, wedge shaped grippers slidabl mounted on said chains, gear teeth on sai wedges, and means adapted to engage said teeth at a predetermined point in the travel of said chains for causing said Wedges to move into work gripping position.

13. The combination in a continuous work feeding mechanism, of a pair of endless work feeding chains, means for driving said chains, wedge shaped grippers slidably mounted on said chains, gear teeth on said wedges, a gear adapted to engage said teeth at a predetermined point in the travel of said chains and means for yieldingly resisting movement of said gear so as to cause said wedges to be shifted into work engaging position.

14. The combination in a continuous work feeding machanism, of a pair of endless work feeding chains, means for driving said chains, wedge shaped grippers slidably mounted in said chains, gear teeth on said wedges, a gear adapted to engage said teeth at a predetermined point in the travel of said chains and a friction brake for yieldingly resisting movement of said gear so as to cause said wedges to be shifted into work engaging position.

15. A continuous feeding mechanism for work such as rods, bars, and the like, comprising two endless chains so disposed that one run of one chain is adjacent to one run of the other chain, means for driving the adjacent runs of said chains in the same direction, housings carried by oppositely adjacent links of said chains, wedge blocks slidably disposed in said housings, and means for moving said wedge blocks relatively to their respective housings.

16. A continuous feeding mechanism for work such as rods, bars, and the like, comprising two endless chains so disposed that one run of one chain is adjacent to one run of the other chain, means for driving the adjacent runs of said chains in the same direction, housings carried by oppositely adjacent links of said chains, wedge blocks slidably disposed in said housings, and means for retarding the movement of the wedge blocks while the chains are moving, whereby said blocks are moved to work-gripping position.

17. A continuous feeding mechanism for work such as rods, bars and the like, comprising a plurality of endless chains traveling in opposite directions, one of said chains having a run thereof adjacent to one run of another chain that travels in the same direction, the links of said chains being provided with housings, each housinghavmg an inclined face, the slope of which is such that it points in the opposite direction to which the chains are moving and towards the run of the chain adjacent thereto, wedge blocks in said housings, each block having a gripping face adjacent to the gripping face of a block carried by the adjacent run of another chain and an inclined face lying along the inclined face of the housing, and means for moving said wedge blocks along the inclined faces of'said housings in the opposite direction to which the adjacent runs of said chains are moving.

18. A link for a continuous work feeding chain, said link having a housing and a work I gripping block disposed for movement laterally and longitudinally of said link.

19. A link for a continuouswork feeding chain, said link comprising a housing and a work gripping block disposed for movement in said link into work gripping position.

20. In a continuous work feeding chain, in combination, housings mounted on the links of said chain, 'a work gripping jaw carried by some of said links and automatic means for positivel moving said jaw in said housing into wor gripping position. a

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 15th day of February,

JACOB TEST LEECH. 

